johns



(No Model.) 2 sheets-sheet 1.

H. W. JOHNS.

ROOFING FABRIC.

110.418,519. Patented 1160.31, 188g.

(No Mael.) 2 sheets-sheet 2. H. VW. JOHNS.

ROFING FABRIC. i

110.418.519. v PatentedvDeo. 81, 1889.

WITNESSES:

ri, HEIERS, Pham-Lnhngrnpner, washington 0,6.

UNITEDv v STATES HENRY w. JOHNS, OE NEw YORK, N. Y.

ROOFING FABRIC.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Bat-.ent No. 418,519, dated `December 31, 1889. Application ned February t21, 139s. 'I serial Nn. 264,815. (No specimens.)

To all'wwm it may concern:

Beit known that I, HENRY W. JOHNS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York city, inthe county of New York and State of `New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Roofing Fabrics, of which the following is a specitication.v

My invention relates'to improvementsin chine.

roofing fabrics, so called. The fabrics referred to-are such as are patented to me in United States Letters Patent No. 125,574, dated April 9, 1872, and are composed, `generally speakin'g,'of an inner layer of canvas coated with pitch, tar, asphaltum, or like substance, an under sheetof Manila or other strong paper, and an upperV sheet of felt or like material, usually saturated with some waterproong compound, -t-he vseveral sheets being pressed firmly together and firmly attached Vto each other bypassing them between rollers. VIn the manufacture of these made, and also diiferent parts of the samev piece, which occasion differing degrees of stretching and consequentl contraction in width as the canvas passes through the ma.-` It has, therefore, been necessary, in order to secure substantially straight edges, to trim theedges of thecompound sheet after manufacture. This involves additional time and labor and a 'very considerable waste. Moreover, it necessitates the cutting olf of the selvage edge ofthe canvas, which is particularly desirable to retain, owing to its strengthv and also because the nails used to attach the sheets to the roof d o not tear out therefrom steam-cylinder nearest the observer having the same reference-letters j been removed and the remaining cylinder and sheets of material being broken off the better to illustrate the apparatus. The felt sheet alone appears in this figure. Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 illustrate'vertical sections of pieces of roofing fabric as made by me. Fig. 9 illustrates a side view of the machine similar to Fig. 2, but.- showing the turning invof one edge of the canvas.

A is the frame of the machine, which supports two hollow cylinders B B, which if desired, may be heated in any suitable manner, preferably by steam injected through the journals. They are adjustable toward .and

vfrom each otherl by means of sliding journalbOXes C C and thumb-screws D D.

felt, and G is a roll of Manila or equivalent paper. They are all fed in between the cylinders simultaneously, the canvas being preferably, but not necessarily, in the center, and the felt and paper oneach side of it. The pitch, tar, asphaltu m, or equivalent adhesive and waterproofing material is supplied from any suitable source upon these several fabrics, as seen at H H2 It is prevented from escaping at the ends by shields I I, which press closely against the ends ofthe cylinders. They may be lined with any suitable material-such as rubber, if necessary-to make the joint tight.

\ J J are heinmers similar to those used in used by me to turn over the edge of the canvas, the felt, or the paper composing thecompound sheet, as hereinafter set forth. They are detachably attached to the shields I I, or at any other suitable point. These shields serve as guides for the several strips of material as they are fed to the machine.

The operation is as follows; All three'sheets are fed to the machine as shown. The-paper and the felt will run evenly, and will be properly superposed one upon the other, with 'their edges evenly meeting each other, being `guided by the shields I I and byproperly-adjusted tension; but the edges of the canvas are ordinarilyv so irregular' that they will notI run evenly to coincide with the edges of the other sheets. I therefore, in order to straighten the edges of the canvas, employ the hemmers,

as shown in Figs. 1', 2, and whichare so ar- E is a roll of canvas. F is a roll of saturated connection with sewing-machines. They are' ICO ranged aste turn in the laterally-projecting uneven portions of its edges priorto the compression by the cylinders, and I run the canvas of such width that at no part will it be narrower kthan the width of the paper and felt. Thus the edges of all the sheets are adj usted exactly to each other, and they are even, uniform, and straight. A compound sheet of this kind, with the edges of the canvas turned in, is shown in Fig. 7. I show it turned in on one edge more than at. the other, thus illustrating the unevenness of the canvas. Where the edges of the canvas happen to run straight and to coincide with the edges of the other sheets there will be no turning thereof by the hemmers on either side. On the contrary, at such parts they will run straight through the hemmers, which then act as guides simply for the several sheets or layers. In such cases the resulting compound sheet will be, as seen in Fig. 3, the canvas having on it the selvage edge.

It will sometimes happen that one edge of the canvas will run straight and in coincidence with the edges of the other sheet-s, while the other edge of the canvas will project laterally, and will consequently be turned in by the hemmers. In such cases the resulting compound sheet will be as shown in Fig. 8, the t-urned-in edge being at the left andthe unturned edge at the right.

Sometimes I purposely make one or more of the sheets or layers which are to compose the compound sheet wider than the completed sheet is to be, and then turn one or more edges of such wide sheet-or sheets back upon itself before they pass through the rollers. The folding over of such edge or edges compresses a portion of the cementing' compound away from the same. This turning overof the edge or edges thickens the edge of the sheet and prevents the cementing material from running out from between the several sheets 'when softened or partially melted by excessively-hot weather or by the use of the fabric in unusually-hot places.

In Fig. 4 I show a sheet in which the canvas happened to run straight and to coincide with the other sheets, and in which the felt was purposely made wider than the desired sheet, in order that its edges might be turned in, as shown.

In Fig. 5 I show a sheet in which the canvas and the felt are both turned in, but the paper not.

In order that the cementing material may be more etfeetively prevented from running out from between the several layers or sheets, I sometimes run a cord K (see Fig. G) into the folded -over edge of the sheet. This cord thickens the edge, throwing out a rib thereon which, if the cord be suicient-ly large, will rest against the adjoining' sheet, thus lnore etfectively confining the softened cementing material. The cord also additionally strengthens the edge of the fabric, and it may be incorporated with the turnedin edges of all the sheets composing the fabric, or of certain ones only.

Of course two hemmers will be necessary ou each side of the machine to turn over the edges of both the canvas and the felt. Moreover, the edge of the paper or other under layer may also be turned back upon itself. If this is done it should be turned up toward the center of the compound sheet.

In Fig. 6 I show the cord introduced in the edge of the turned-over sheets in a three-ply fabric.

In all the forms illustrated and above described the canvas has the selvage edge left thereon, that being the controlling feature of my invention.

My improvement is as applicable to a twoply fabric composed of suitable material as to a three-ply, and I sometimes use an asbestus sheet as the outer or the under sheet, one or both, thus giving a tire-proof qual-ity to the compound sheet, and an asbestus sheet may also be used as an intermediate sheet in a three or more ply fabric.

The outer surface or'surfaees of my compound sheet may be protected from wear and may also be ornamented by any suitable coat'- ing, and the compound sheet may be treated so as to be fire-proof.

The mechanism herein shown and described forms no part of my present inven.

tion. It is described merely for the purpose of showing one method in which my products may be manufactured; nor does the method or process disclosed form any part of the invention herein claimed. I do not abandon the method, however, because I have filed an application for a patent therefor on the 26th of October, 1888, it being Serial No. 289,232.

Having described my invention, I claiml. A compound sheet comprising, essentially, a plurality of separate sheets of different materials and of average equal Widths, one of them being canvas having a selvage edge, any excess in width and projecting edges of the canvas being made straight and equal in width to the other sheets by turning in the edges thereof, and cementing material between the several sheets, substantially as set forth.

2. A compound sheet comprising, essentially, a plurality of separate sheets having cementin g material between them, one or both the edges of either of `said sheets being folded over upon itself, thus thickening the edge of the sheet and interposing a rib between it and the next sheet, whereby the outfiowing of the cementing material is obstructcd,sub stantially as set forth. l

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 20th day of February` A. D. 1888.

HENRY W. JOHNS.

lVitnesses:

CHAs. H. PATRICK, PHILLIPS ABBOTT.

IOO

IIO 

